Film magazine



April 15, 1941. 2,238,719

A. R. DE TARTAS FLM MAGAZINE Filed Oct. 5, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS.

April 15, 1941. A. R. DE TARTAS FILM MAGAZINE Filed 0G12. 5, 1938 Patented Apr. 15, 1941 FILM MAGAZINE AugustusA R. de Tartas, Buffalo, N. Y., assigner to The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Cincinnati,

Ohio, a corporation Application October 5, 1938, Serial No. 233,373

(Cl. 8816.Z)

Claims.

This invention relates to a magazine for films which is particularly adapted for use with a motion picture projector having the usual sound reproduction apparatus but which is equally applicable for use with a projector of the silent type or a reproducer for sound alone.

One object of the' invention is to provide a magazine which is readily placed in position with relation to the projector by hand or may be manipulated automatically after the manner of phonograph records in the well known autowill be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the film magazine in its preferred form, with its cover plate removed and parts shown in section. Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the other side of the magazine. Fig. 3 is an elevational view of one edge thereof. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an elevational view on a reduced scale of a film receiver for use with the magazine. 6, "I and 8 are perspective views of an alternative form of the invention. In Fig. 8 the magazine is shown with the cover removed. In Figs. 5, 6 and 'I other parts have been removed to show the remaining parts in detail.

The magazine in the 4preferred form shown in the drawings, includes a casing Ill in which the entire mechanism is contained. Within the casing, there are provided a pair of assembly plates II and I2 dividing the same into a plurality of chambers. The plate II is secured to the side wall of the casing Ill and the plate I2 is removably secured by means of screws I3 threadedly engaging spacers Il secured to plate Il. A cover I5 closes the open side of the casing I l. A central shaft I6 is journaled in suitable bearings on the casing III and on plate I2 and similar shafts I1 and Il are similarly journaled. Within the chamber formed by the casing l Il and plate Il, said shafts have remcvablysecured h Fiss.

mounted on the plate I2.

thereto sprockets I9., and 2|, respectively. A sprocket chain 22 is trained about said sprockets as best seen in Fig. 2. The shaft I6 is accessible through an opening 23 in the side wall of casing I0 and is provided with a rectangular recess 24 which may be engaged by a suitable driving member operated by the projector mechanism in timed relation therewith. Thus shaft I6 may be rotated and may drive shafts I1 and I6 through the sprockets and chain just mentioned.

Within the chamber formed between plates II and I2 there is provided a fllm receiver 25 shown in detail in Fig. 5. Said receiver consists of a circular plate 25aV and a generally cylindrical boss 25h on which the film may be wound. The plate 25a extends beyond the boss 25h to form a flange 25o which is corrugated as best seen in Fig. 4. The cylindrical boss 25h is likewise corrugated as seen in Fig. 5. The plate 25a is provided with a central opening 25d freely fitting the central shaft I6. A roll of film 26 (Fig. 1) is wound about the boss 25h and its outer periphery is engaged by a plurality of rollers 21.

The plate I2 is provided with an opening 28 through which the film may be led from the inner edge of the roll 26 to a guide roller 29 Said guide roller, as best seen in Fig. 4, is positioned in the space between plate I2 and the cover I5 and is arranged at a suitable angle to guide the film from the inner chamber. From the roller 29 the film is led about a film sprocket 30 secured to the shaft I1 and is retained in contact with said sprocket by a pair of guide rollers 3|.

From the roller 3| the film is passed through a raceway formed by guide members 32, a loop 33 being formed therein between said roller' and said raceway. The members 32 guide the film past an aperture 34 which may be positioned,

40 when the magazine is in use, adjacent the housing 35 of the projector which contains the usual projector lens. Said members also guide the film past a second aperture 36 which, when the magazine is in use, is positioned adjacent the finger 3'I or other member of the projecting mechanism which imparts the necessary intermittent motion to the lm for proper framing of the images. Upon leaving the raceway 32, a second loop 38 is formed in the film and it then passes over a film sprocket 39 secured to the central shaft I6 and is held in engagement with said sprocket by guide rollers 40. A third loop 4I is then formed in said film and it then passes over guide rollers 42 and 43 to a second raceway .formed by guides 44 which guide the same past -to`" the flange 25e.

an aperture 45 positioned adjacent the photocell housing 46 of the projector mechanism. From the guide members 44, the lm is led over a roller 41 and thence over a nlm sprocket 48 secured to the shaft I8 and is held in engagement l with said sprocket by guide rollers 49. The iilm then passes over a guide roller 50 mounted upon the plate i2 and arranged at an angle as shown in Fig. 1. From the roller 50 the film passes rearwardly through an opening in the plate I2 and is guided into position on the outer edge of the roll 26 by rollers 52 and 53.

In threading the film as just described, the lm sprockets 30, 39 and 48 are detached from their shafts, the plate |2 is removed, and the lm receiver l with the film wound thereon is placed in position over the central shaft. The plate I2 is then replaced and the inner and outer ends of the lm are drawn through the openings 28 and 5| respectively. One of said ends is threaded about the several sprockets and guide rollers and the two ends are then joined in any sutable manner. The lm is then in the form of a continuous ribbon which may be progressively unwound from the center of the roll 26 as the sprockets 30, 39 and 48 are rotated and which -is continuously rewound on the outer edge of `the roll. By this means, it will be apparent that when the film has been completely shown, the

starting point thereon has again reached the inner edge of the reel and is immediately ready for reshowing. In the winding and unwinding of the film the receiver 25 rotates freely on the shaft I8. 'I'he corrugations of the boss 25b assist the removal of the film from the inner edge of the roll since they provide actual contact between the film and receiver only at spaced intervals. In the progress of the lm from the outer to the inner edge of the roll there is a differential slippage of each layer on adjacent layers and consequently there is relative movement of the outer parts of the film with respect The corrugations on said flange serve to reduce the area in frictional contact and thus to reduce frictional strain on the film.

When the magazine is in position with respect to the projector, the projector lamp 54 thereof is in the position shown in Fig. 1 and may project its light through apertures 55 in the rear edges of the casing I0 and cover |5 and from thence through a passageway formed by a rectangular tube 56 to the aperture 34. Suitable lenses 6| and 62 or a reflector 63, or both, may be used to prevent undesired dispersion of the light in passing through said passageway or said passageway may contain a bar of fused quartz or the material commercially known as Lucite, adapted to transmit light in a straight line Without appreciable dispersion. The light passing through the channel reaches the projector lens through the film image momentarily framed in the aperture 34 and thus may serve to project the image on the usual screen.

Similarly, the light from the exciter lamp 51 of the projector is passed through apertures 58 in the rear edge of the casing I0 and cover I5 and is transmitted through an optical system contained in a channel 59 to the aperture 45. The last mentioned aperture is properly posit-ioned with respect to the sound track on the film to transmit said light in varying frequencies to the photocell system of the projector which translates the same into varying electric current to be again translated into sound by the amplification system of the projector in the usual manner. 'The optical system within the channel 59 preferably consists of lenses 64 and 65 adapted to focus the beam from lamp 51 on the sound track of the lm in the form of a fine light line image best adapted for scanning the sound track. In order to provide as smooth a. movement of the hlm as possible past the sound aperture 45, a heavy metallic cylinder 50 is secured to the shaft I8 between plates and I2 and serves as a flywheel.

In the alternative form of the invention shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 there is provided a casing ||0 similar to the casing I0 and which may be divided in a similar manner by assembly plates Iii and H2. In Fig. 6 the magazine is shown with both assembly plates and associated members removed. In Fig. 7 assembly plate ||2 and associated members have been removed. The casing is provided with apertures ||3 and ||4 for the picture and optical system, apertures ||5 and ||6 for the sound system and an aperture ||1 for the intermittent lm moving fingers or sprocket.

Sprocket shafts IIB, I |9 and |20 are journaled on the rear wall of the casing and on the assembly plate III and carry sprockets 2| about which there is trained a sprocket chain |22. Said sprockets and chains rest in the compartment between the assembly plate III and the rear wall of the casing.

Mounted on the assembly plate I there are provided a plurality of rollers |23 engaging and guiding the outer edge of a roll |24 of film. A similar set of rollers |25 engages and guides the inner edge of the roll.

'I'he shafts ||8, I|9 and |20 project through the assembly plate and have secured thereto film. moving sprockets |26, |21 and |28. Guide rollers |29 are mounted on the assembly plate ||2 and serve to hold the lm in engagement with said sprockets. A picture raceway |30 and a sound raceway |3I are also mounted on the plate ||2. There is provided a raceway |32 likewise mounted on the plate ||2 and spaced therefrom to permit passage of the light between the apertures |I3 and ||4.

In the use of this form of the magazine, the sprockets |26, |21 and |28 are first removed and the assembly plate ||2 and associated parts-are lifted out. The roll of lm is then placed in position on the plate between the outer and inner sets of rollers |23 and |25. A length of lm is drawn from both the inner and outer edges of the roll, the inner end being threaded through an opening |34 in plate 2 and the outer end through an opening |38 therein. The plate ||2 is then replaced in the casing and the sprockets |26, |21 and |28 are replaced on their shafts.

The inner end of the film is led about a tapered roller |33 which guides the same through opening |34. From said roller the film is led over an inclined roller |35 mounted on the plate I|2 and thence through the raceway |32. From said raceway the iilm is led over an inclined roller |36, about the sprocket |26, through the raceway |30, about the sprocket |21, through the raceway |3|, and over the sprocket |28. The outer end of the roll is led about an inclined roller |31, through the opening |38, and about the roller |39. The two ends are then joined by suitable means to form an endless iilm. The cover may then be replaced andA the magazine is ready for use.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the invention provides a completely self-contained magazine unit which may be placed in proper position with respect to a projector with no more manipulation than that required in placing a record on a phonograph. It may be manually manipulated, or a number of them may be placed in a suitable storage container and automatically presented to the projector by automatic mechanism either in a predetermined sequence or selectively, as may be desired.

No awkward threading operation is required once the magazine has been loaded, no matter how many times the film is shown. No timeconsuming rewindng operation is required since the lm is instantly available for a second showing upon completion of the first.

'Ihe invention has been described in its present preferred form. 'I'he details however may be varied within wide limits without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

It is evident that the invention is applicable to the simultaneous reproduction of sound and picture records or the reproduction of either sound or pictures alone. The reference in the claims to the reproduction of sensible impressions is intended to include either or both.

The invention claimed is:

1. A nlm magazine for use with a projector actuated by a beam of light, including a casing, a partition therein dividing said casing into two major compartments, means in one of said compartments for storing a roll of film having a photographic record thereon, means forming a passageway for said light beam through the second compartment, and drive sprockets in said second compartment adapted to engage said nlm and to draw the same from one edge of the4 roll, through an opening in said partition to the second compartment, across said passageway to intercept said beam of light and thence back through an opening in said partition to the other edge of said roll.

2. A film magazine for use with a projector actuated by a beam of light, including a casing, a partition therein dividing said casing into two major compartments, means in one of said compartments for storing a roll of film having a photographic record thereon, means forming a passageway for said light beam through the secr rotating said drive sprockets from a common power source external of said magazine.

3. A self-contained iilm magazine unit for use with a device havinga light source and reproduction apparatus actuated by a beam of light from said source for reproduction of sensible impressions from a photographic film record, said magazine unit including means forming a passageway for said light beam through said magazine, an optical system carried within said magazine and adapted to direct said beam through said passageway, means for storing an endless nlm record in said magazine, guide members adapted to guide said film across said passage- Way to intercept said beam, sprocket means engaging said nlm and adapted to run the same continuously from said storage means to said guide members and back to said storage means, and mechanism arranged to detachably connect said sprocket means to an external source of driving power.

4. A nlm magazine for use with a device having a light source and reproduction apparatus actuated by a beam of light from said source for reproducing sensible impressions from a photographic film record, said magazine including a casing having apertures for the passage of said beam therethrr igh, an optical system carried within said casing and adapted to direct said beam between said apertures, means for storing in said casing an endless film having a photographic record thereon, guide members adapted to guide said lm between said apertures to intercept said light beam, sprocket means engaging said nlm and adapted to run the same continuously from said storage means to said guide members and back to said storage means, and mechanism arranged to detachably connect said sprocket means to an external source of driving power.

5. A self-contained film magazine unit for use with a device having a light source and reproduction apparatus actuated by a beam of light from said source for reproduction of sensible impressions irom a photographic film record, said magazine unit including means for storing an endless roll of lm in said magazine, means forming a passageway for said light beam through said magazine, said passageway lying in a plane substantially parallel to and at one side of said nlm roll, driving means adapted to unwind a loop of nlm from said roll and rewind the same thereon, and guide members adapted to guide said loop from said roll, twist the same from the plane of said roll to the plane of said passageway, guide the same across said passageway to intercept said beam and return the same to the plane of said roll for rewinding thereon.

AUGUSTUS R. DE TARTAS. 

